I am sorry to all of you who have colon/bowel problems and have not found a good doctor. Please do not give up. I have been through my fair share of doctors -- good and bad. I now have a WONDERFUL GI doctor! They do exist!! Keep searching. There is no reason for you to continue to suffer because of a few "jerk" doctors!

I don''t know if you want to hear this, but redundant colon IS itself a medical problem..!!!

The excessive length of colon causes "Slow Transit" of waste through the colon (period of time from eating food to expelling that food''s waste).

When waste is in the colon for an extended period of time, the lining of the colon continues to extract water out of the waste (not to mention poisonous toxins) and then what started out as "Slow Transit" is now a colon full of drier, more solid waste. This becomes compacted and causes discomfort and as the waste continues to decompose it produces gases which, along with the volume of solid waste, cause a distended abdomen. It certainly CAN cause the pain on the right side of the abdomen, the back and lower pelvis.

Years of this chronic condition eventually takes a toll on the villae and muscles of the colon. They are continually compressed by the solid waste and eventually become unable to function. This can also lead to the development of abnormal pouches or sacs opening from the colon -- known as diverticulosis.

While not an uncommon anomaly, a redundant colon is NOT considered "very common." And, it does NOT just mean "your sigmoid colon is longer and loopier than normal." I have the films of my own Barium Enema (from when I was first diagnosed with Irritable Bowel Disease in 1983) and can show you that my colon''s redundancy is in the ascending and transverse sections -- not the sigmoid colon.

Just thought I would chip in to the conversation you are having and share my experience as a Bowen therapist with you.

I have been treating a young female, letÃ¢spamï¿½s call her Vicky, in her 20s with severe digestive problems. Although she has not been diagnosed with redundant colon (she has actually never heard of it) her symptoms seem to be the same as most of yours e.i. has been constipated for most of her life, suffers from terrible stomach and lower back pain, and for the past 6 months she has only been able to defecate with the help of laxatives. Vicky has tried most of the things suggested above, meat free, dairy free diet, drinking min 2l of water a day, exercise etc but nothing has elevated her problem. It also seems that the constipation runs in her family as her mom suffered from it too and a cousin also. I was recommended to her by a friend who had heard that I managed to help some people with acid reflux and bloating, so Vicky came to see me. Well, 4 days after her first Bowen session she managed to go to the loo without laxatives. Her second Bowen treatment was scheduled a week after her first, and the result? 4 days after treatment she went to the loo at least once for 3 days in a row. Then she had red meat and unfortunately, got constipated again. The 3rd treatment came 12 days after the 2nd and 2 days after this treatment she went 4 times in one day, then managed to go every other day until she ate red meat again. Her 4th treatment came about 2 weeks after the 3rd and has been over a month ago now. IÃ¢spamï¿½ve only just heard that for 3-4 weeks, she has been regular and only started getting constipated for the past few days. It looks like her digestion is getting stronger and stronger and it takes longer for it to get out of balance. I must say, I am very pleased for her. Vicky also told me that as her constipation got worse over the years so did her period pain and guess what, that is in the past as well now! Last time she had her period she did not feel a thing! Please do not get me wrong, I am not saying that Bowen will help you as nothing is 100% bulletproof, but I would like to give you another option. It is just something else you can try and I would hope it does the trick for your body too.

By the way, if you have not heard of the Bowen technique, Bowen is a very gentle soft tissue release, which stimulates the bodyÃ¢spamï¿½s ability to heal itself. You see, sometimes the body gets stuck in a routine and forgets what it is supposed to do - Bowen reminds the body of healthier arrangements. Most people find the treatment session very relaxing, it is non-invasive and there are hardly any dos and donÃ¢spamï¿½ts following treatment!

Just search the net for ''Bowtech'' if you want to find out more about the Bowen technique or to find a therapist close to you. Good luck!

Thank You! Thank You! For every post here!
I'm 53. I've suffered for years and then the last 23 years diverticulitis added to the Redundant Colon suffering. I was always told it was my diet, or my fault. Drs were short with me and life has been frustrating. Some of my kids thought that I was a hypochondriac. Life has been hard with this secret. Who do you tell? Now after a "virtual" colonoscopy (CT) they finally I know what it is, besides the diverticulitis.
My new problem will be getting a better Gastro Dr with a kind bed side manner, and getting the pain under control.
I've had 4 infections (I used to get 4 a year) in my diverticulitis since February and I'm so sick and tired of the pain, constipation, diahrea, chills, vomiting etc. I feel like an old old woman.
The surgeon won't touch me until I have my 2nd near death infection. How crazy is that. The first one was frightening enough.
UGH!
prayers to you all.
Thank You for sharing!

I have been diagnosed with a redundant sigmoid colon, an extra long colon, and colonic inertia, which is an extreme form of slow transit constipation....have any of ya'll had a transit marker test?? This shows how fast or slow your colon is. You have to take a capsule with 24 markers inside of it and have xrays evryday for 5 days. This will show if you have colonic inertia. The redundant colon is not a problem for all people that have it, but it is a huge problem if you already have slow transit in the colon...I have had problems with constipation my whole life and they always diagnosed me with IBS-C. It was in 2005 that I took the transit marker test and was given the correct diagnoses of colonic inertia. I will be having surgery Monday to remove the redundant sigmoid colon and will have a temporary ileostomy, a bag, while this heals.

Thanks cbancher. I did a google search on chirocleanse tea and found a website that didn't look legitimate. The English was really poor and then I found another one called Chiro Klenz. Can you please advise which one it is?

Yep - been diagnosed with this today and all the comments echo my experience. I have found though (over the years), that the best thing to do is stay off drugs - as you say , your body gets used to them. I use a high fibre diet (Psyllium but not too much, two pears and two apples, bowl of bran cereal everyday), cup of hot water and lemon every morning to stimulate my system (with my system it takes 2 months before I feel better if I haven't been taking it), low gluten intake (don't believe in excluding anything entirely) and vitamin B complex once a day. I don't think there is any one method to treat this and everyone is different, so you need to try it and see. I also use on occasion "liver salts" - magnesium suphate and bicarb I think (ask the pharmacist) - or Epsom Salts . I avoid continued constipation at all costs, no matter how hard it may be! At the first sign of things slowing down I take action and have been called "neurotic" and "bowel obsessed" by doctors (until today!). Don't let "professionals" get you down - you are the expert on how you are feeling! All those "experts" missed this diagnosis for the full 50 years of my life, until I got a doctor who actually listened to me and sent me for tests. I accept I will always have a problem but feel in charge now I know what it is.

Yep - been diagnosed with this today and all the comments echo my experience. I have found though (over the years), that the best thing to do is stay off drugs - as you say , your body gets used to them. I use a high fibre diet (Psyllium but not too much, two pears and two apples, bowl of bran cereal everyday), cup of hot water and lemon every morning to stimulate my system (with my system it takes 2 months before I feel better if I haven't been taking it), low gluten intake (don't believe in excluding anything entirely) and vitamin B complex once a day. I don't think there is any one method to treat this and everyone is different, so you need to try it and see. I also use on occasion "liver salts" - magnesium suphate and bicarb I think (ask the pharmacist) - or Epsom Salts . I avoid continued constipation at all costs, no matter how hard it may be! At the first sign of things slowing down I take action and have been called "neurotic" and "bowel obsessed" by doctors (until today!). Don't let "professionals" get you down - you are the expert on how you are feeling! All those "experts" missed this diagnosis for the full 50 years of my life, until I got a doctor who actually listened to me and sent me for tests. I accept I will always have a problem but feel in charge now I know what it is.

Hi-
I just found this site. I was diagnosed with Redundant Colon about 5 years ago, and before that, I had a life of agony from my severe constipation and IBS symptoms. I now have no symptoms as long as I eat a restricted diet, which doesn't bother me, except sometimes I will eat like "normal" people and I have some symptoms. It's never gotten as bad as it was before, though, when I would lay on the floor in severe pain, crying. I even had 3 hemmerhoid surgeries because of the constipation! I can't eat like most people. My problem became "solved" when my GI doctor turned me onto these Fiber Cakes that look and taste like bran muffins. Made with wheat bran, they have 13 GRAMS of fiber each and no sugar, and they taste good! I eat one for breakfast, another one later, and sometimes another one as a snack! I take them like medicine, and then avoid cooked vegies, peppers, mushrooms, rice and beans, cheese, etc. I do eat those occasionally but will then just have some gas and that slow moving colon might wake me up at night. Otherwise, I NEVER get constipated anymore. Recently I had serious surgery and the pain meds I had to take messed me up for about 5 days, and no one would believe that they would affect me so much worse than most people. FINALLY after tons of stool softeners, I am now okay again. I have no trouble with colonoscopies or sigmoidoscopies, but these muffins are the only thing that keeps me cleaned out and happy.

Where do you get these fiber cakes? I was also diagnosed with large redundant colon, with no explanation from the Dr. Glad I found this site! I also have shingles on top of everything! I am 72 yrs old and have had lifelong constipation problems.

Hi there, just found this site after putting a search in 'long redundant colon'. I had a colonoscopy recently and my gastroenterologist recommended this as an alternative to medication;

The Beverley-Travis Natural Laxative Mixture
This recipe (detailed below) was studied in a research trial that involved older people in a care home. A treatment group was compared to a non-treatment group. The conclusion of the study stated that "the Beverley-Travis Natural Laxative Mixture, given at a dosage of 2 tablespoons twice daily, is easy to use, cost-effective, and more effective than daily prescribed laxatives at producing normal bowel movements". So, it may be worth a try:

Recipe ingredients - one cup each of: raisins; pitted prunes; figs; dates; currants; prune juice concentrate.
Directions - combine contents together in a grinder or blender to a thickened consistency. Store in refrigerator between uses.
Dose - two tablespoons twice a day. Increase or decrease the dose according to consistency and frequency of bowel movements.

So far so good. I can identify with most that's been said on this site - I'm 59yrs old, have had constipation all my life. I didn't believe my Dad when he said he had an extra long colon( he was always a story teller)! but now I know cos I've inherited it! Because I always kept away from meds for the condition (doctors were useless anyway) I think I have saved myself from more misery. Anyway, hopefully this recipe will help others x

I find ground flaxseed helps with constipation. Also pears, peaches, apricots, papaya, and mango (all raw). Cooked beets are good also.
I have to limit the starch like potato, rice etc. but I do have a little.
Fats like avocado and olive oil also help.
Stay away from ALL animal products-they have no fibre at all.
Cooked green leafy vegetables are high in magnesium-these also help.

I. too have been diagnosed with a redundant colon after a colonosccopy approximately 3 yrs. ago. I have had constipation problems all my life in addition to the frequent and urgent need to urinate. I have tried numerous remedies and laxatives which may seem to work at first but soon seem to become ineffective. My gastroenterolgist was not helpful at all other than criticizing me for not preparing properly even though I followed his instructions to the minute prior to the procedure. Gee, I wonder if that could be due to the condition he diagnosed, DUH! After 66 years of life and reading all these forum articles I believe my frequent & urgent need to urinate might be associated with the redundant colon problem and the pressure it places on the bladder. I tried the pharmaceutical (for frequent and urgent urination) prescribed by my primary care physician (I forget the name of it) and it didn't work. So now I carry a concealed pee bottle in my truck and have mastered the technique of urinating into the bottle at 65 mph on the interstate, if necessary. Sounds crude, I know, but better than peeing in my pants or risking arrest for public urination! Getting back to the redundant colon problem, the only sure-fire method of relieving my backed-up bowel problem I've found is huge amounts of prune juice (sometimes as much as 32 ozs.) in combination with a women's laxative like Correctol (even though I'm a male). I usually do this late at night (the prune juice part) while at home near the bathroom. The laxative I take about 12 hrs. earlier. This almost always works and leaves me refreshed, if you know what I mean. The late night prune juice session requires about 3-4 hours and several trips to the bathroom but usually produces a good clean-out of extremely loose bowels. Ironically, the urination problem seems to subside a little also. I realize that this is probably addictive but at age 66 if it works, who cares? No other post in this forum that I have read mentions the prune juice remedy and I wonder If I am somehow hurting myself by doing this. It seems like a natural enough remedy (except for the laxative) & I wonder if any one has any useful comments or information to offer. I hope I have not been too graphic and offended anybody, but I'm just trying to tell it like it is. One more comment. When I mentioned the urination problem to my gatro. guy he suggested I make an appointment with the urologist on the second floor of the clinic his offive was in. Needless to say, I need to find a new gastroenterologist.

To IMark44: Your gastroenterologist was correct to recommend you to a urologist. I am 60 years old and, two days ago, was diagnosed with redundancy of the sigmoid colon and splenic fixure. In 1998, I was diagnosed to have interstitial cystitis, which is having ulcers in the bladder instead of the stomach. Both problems are serious and need to be treated. Both are painful and can be life-threatening. Go see that urologist. Best progress to you, and God bless you.

Reply to IMark44, who replied October 10th, 2010: Finally someone besides me who believes the frequency of urination problem is due to pressure from the redundant colon. Where else do doctors think all that extra colon is going (fitting)?? I have had redundant colon for years, & the urination problem has become intolerable. I have had 2 rectocele repairs, 11/2001 & 4/2010, but the main culprit there is long standing paradoxical contraction, most likely all my life. I am 68 & have managed to be cancer-free all my life so far. I believe this is because I take Kombucha (dried residue capsules, Pronatura brand, brewing the ferment myself is better, but more work). I get the redundant colon tissue proliferation, but it doesn't progress to cancer. I have had one pre-cancerous polyp removed from my ileocecal valve (so, just at the juncture with the small intestine) years ago. I have regular colonoscopies, but the long tortuously twisted colon makes it increasingly difficult. Sadly for my grandmother & her daughter, my aunt, who died from colon cancer, all this wasn't known in their time. I want to solve my problem & travel again & visit family who live far away. We must persist until we find the best solutions. BTW, my colorectal doctor tells me that one shouldn't remove part of the colon, unless he removes 80% (sounds crazy, doesn't it) BECAUSE if less than 80% is removed, function is lost in about 50 % of the cases. I may have to take that chance. Thank you for your comment. healthsensemama

Miralax (or the prescription generic, Glycolax) helps me, but I try to use the least amount possible, nightly after dinner. I use less than the 17 grams recommended on the label, & I try to compensate by eating a banana, a pear, 1 to 3 prunes, grapes, cantaloup, squash,...whatever keeps things moving through the bowel. If I skip the Glycolax, I get serious hard stool constipation, & I am tired of all the pain & crisis. The Glycolax counteracts the drying effect of the colon, an otherwise normal natural function. But with a longer colon, there is more drying. Miralax (Glycolax) is polyethyleneglycol, which binds water, thereby retaining water in the stool. It is toxic, especially to the kidneys, but not if it remains in the stool. The basic premise is that it is not absorbed from the stool through the intestinal flora & colon membranes into the blood. But studies have shown that a small percentage (average 4%) is absorbed. Even more is absorbed in people who have "leaky gut syndrome" ie. the flora are letting some of the wrong things in & across the otherwise selective barrier. So, it is risky to stay on it long term. I have been on it for years, & I feel bad about that, but the alternative is impossible constipation. I am hoping my colo-rectal doctor will agree to remove a CAREFULLY CONSIDERED PORTION of my colon, leaving enough only for the normal necessary amount of dehydrating of the stool. It is a dilemma.

I have Good News & Bad News from my appointment with my colo-rectal doctor/surgeon 10/21/10. The good news is that he is talking good sense now, after seeing the results of my colon transit study a few weeks ago. He opened the conversation with, "You have very miserable transit." I said, "Only up to a point, right?" (I am concerned to keep as much as my colon as possible.) Then he finally talked about my problem being the sigmoid colon, & his hope that we can remove only that part. So, no more talk about having to remove "80%" - thank God! This was the best news! But he does need me to have a defecogram, a test I canceled out on a few weeks ago. For the first time ever, he told me how the data would be useful; he said it DOES tell him something about the sigmoid colon, at least the part closest to the rectum; & it tells him something about the "pelvic diaphragm". And he might jack up the bladder a little higher, for less interference between the colon and the bladder. The BAD news is simply that indeed I have to have surgery. But that's not too bad, since there is at last "light at the end of the tunnel" now, for which I am very glad.

I also have a very large redundant colon. I am only 4 feet ten inches tall. I am 64 years old. My cecum is up by my liver and half of my colon is floating. I like the rest of you, have had constipation and cramping all my life. I finally went to see my internist who ordered the correct test. The radiologist and surgeon made the decision that I need to have 2/3 of my colon removed because while doing the barium enema the colon was twisting and untwisting setting me up for gang green. My grandmother died with gang green of the colon. My father had colon cancer. I am to have surgery in about 10 days. My surgeon started out like most of your doctors saying I had to live with it then he changed his mind and called me a week later. Perhaps some of you that are "living with this condition" haven't found the right doctor to reevaluate the problem. Keep looking. I'll keep you posted How I feel after my surgery. I am tired of all the pain, constipation,laxatives and remedies.

funny... how surprised I am to hear others have the same diagnosis as I do...I had never heard of a redundant colon until I had a colonoscopy due to intense digestive problems and back pain. Nothing seems to help, but plenty of things can make it worse. I do Pilates and Yoga everyday to keep things moving and keep my back pain to a minimum. Eating in general causes problems and incredible bloating, even when I was a vegetarian for 25 years. I now eat meat(limited) because protein moves through my system fairly easy in small doses. I also have more trouble when ovulating (and I thought it was all in my head! Ha, who knew!)
I don't know anyone who has had the surgery...and so far nobody on this post has stated they no anyone who has had the surgery. ?? Anybody??